What gaming headphones to buy? - Page 349

You sound exactly like you did after you listend to the DT770s lol. You were in love with those for a long time as well.

if i bought an equalizer what would be the best eq settings for positioning?

I have a pair of Sony MDR-NC6 noise canceling head phones. How come none of these high priced head phones have noise canceling? I do like the NC feature when playing FPS as it makes things like foot steps; pop better.

The head phones I have are fine for me but I am looking to upgrade with 5.1. Any suggestions for a 5.1 setup with noise cancellation?

I haven't played with an EQ specifically to maximize positioning, but if the sound signatures of the "best" positioning cans are to be believed, you would want to brighten the top end and cut bass from the low end.

This would be an interesting idea, actually. If it's as easy as EQ'ing to make a mediocre positioning headphone into a much better one, people could potentially find a single headphone (with EQ) which works well for multiplayer, single player, movies, music, etc, and that would be great.

I have my doubts as to whether or not this would work though, because I don't think that sound signature is the only factor involved in good positioning. I think distance of the drivers from your ears plays a big role, and I also think this is what results in the lower bass and seemingly bright sound signature -- that is to say, I think the low bass, bright signature, and good positioning can all be attributed in large part to the distance of the drivers from your ears along with the cup design, pads, etc.

I know that EQ'ing can make the positioning worse (for example, by increasing the bass), but I don't know if it can make bad positioning better by reversing. Would be an interesting test. If I had to guess, I would say that you could improve positioning, but only so much. I think it would be in the category of "worth it if you can live with the resulting sound signature".

That's just my guesses anyway.

Noise cancellation mucks with the sound too much to be considered high fidelity. Noise cancellation is great when you are in environments where you need noise cancellation (such environments wouldn't be friendly to high fidelity headphones anyway), but for gaming at home, they is generally not needed, so we look at options that offer higher fidelity sound.

I don't want open back head phones as they would allow sound to leak in and out? Any suggestions for closed headphines? Playing on XBOX

Generally changing the headphone will affect the positioning the most. By taking some bass out, it allows the user to hear more of the important information which may appear to have better positioning. Start with a headphone that has good positioning and then you can eq it ti get what ever sound signature you are after.

I was in love with the 770s because of the gobs of bass and perfect pinpoint accuracy in positioning sounds, but there was a significant gap in sq between the 770 Pros and the 880s (I had bought them at the same time, if you can remember), but I was irked at the 880's lack of rear audio cues. I have mentioned it many times already: the 880s would be the best headphone in their price range IMHO, IF it had good rear audio cues.

At the time that I bought the 770s I was in my gobs of bass only mode. I was that way ever since I got into headphones UNTIL I got my hands on the K701. The clarity of the K701 wowed me so much that I put the 770 Pros for sale soon after. The K701 pretty much opened my eyes into an experience that showed me that I didn't need a wall of thunderous bass to enjoy my headphones.

That said, I was still looking into a headphone that could deliver a pristine like clarity like the 880 and K701 but with more bass. Not the bass of old, but an impactful bass impact that didn't devour the rest of the spectrum. I was actually going to buy the DT770/600 as I hear it has the most balanced sound of all the Beyers (even the 880/600) with some good bass impact, but I know I would miss the open soundstage that the K701 gave me.

That's when I started looking into the DT990/600. I have always heard that they had the best bass an open headphone ever had, but managed to keep an airy sound, and a bright signature. So I bought it on impulse, and it is definitely the only headphone out of the many I have bought that catered specifically for my needs.

My checklist for a solid keeper:

Bass: Check
Clarity: Check (more than any closed headphone I have owned)
Soundstage: Check (only the AD700 and K701 have bigger from the ones I have tried)

and most important:

Gaming: Check. Not only do I not have any issues with their positioning, but they are only headphone that I can use for single player and competitive gaming without sacrificing much. While the CAL is a steal for the price, they still lack that soundstage that I have missed with every single closed headphone I have used. That and they are on the warm side, which pales in comparison to brighter and airy headphones like the K701, DT880, and DT990.

But don't take my word for it. Unlike personal preferences like the CAL and 770 Pros, the DT990/600 is one of the most well loved headphones even for audiophiles. I'm not hyping them up. If you love the DT880/600, there's no way you can possibly NOT love the DT990/600 if you want more fun out of the 880 type sound.

As for EQ-ing, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the DT990 would probably work extremely well for that. They are super solid in single player and already great at multi. If you tone down the bass a teeny bit, they'd be even better than the 880s, due to the positional audio being better already.

What about this 7.1 DSS from turtle beach, will it work with the K702? Would I still need an AMP?

I'm not saying you're wrong or crazy or anything, I know exactly where you're coming from.

I'm just looking from the outside with a little humor as I look in on your journey. It's entertaining to read about how excited you get, and I couldn't help but notice how happy you are with the DT990s vs how you felt about the DT770s at the time, and how similarly happy you seem to be.

I think you are a Beyer man at heart

Anyway, I am glad that you are liking the DT990s so much! I may have to try them someday. At the time I got my DT880/600s, the DT990s definitely had their dedicated fans, but the consensus seemed to be that the DT880s were the "better" headphones. I can definitely see the utility of a more fun DT880, though. Maybe someday. For now, my W3s are my fun headphone, and they are absolutely fantastic/perfect for it, giving me a great amount of tight, clear bass, and overall great clarity and natural sound. I'm a big fan of them, but I would definitely call them a bit more on the fun side than neutral, but for listening to my ipod/iphone on the road, that's exactly what I want. Actually, they sound a lot like the way you describe the DT990, except maybe soundstage and positioning, given that they are IEMs.

don't let the "7.1" fool you.... with DH and a near 360* sound field, they could call it "20.1"

the DSS wont be much different from the ax720 decoder, the mixamp, or even the jvc DH decoder.

ax720/mixamp are better because they mix in your voice channel

Lol, I'm definitely a Beyer man. I'm still contemplating on getting the DT770/600 in the future for closed sessions.

I honestly can't look at the 770 Pros in the same light once I got my hands on the K701. I was pretty much awestruck at how superior the K701 was.

As for the 880s being the better Beyer headphone for audiophiles, I have no doubt about that. Most audiophiles want a neutral/balanced sound. That's what the 880s are pretty in every regard. However, there are quite a few among us that still prefer a slightly more fun headphone. I do have my balanced headphone in the K701 (albeit with just a smidge less bass than neutral), so there wouldn't be a need to have 880s for me.

One balanced, one fun, and one for late night. That's what I need.

EVM: I don't know how powerful the amp portion of the DSS is, but you won't get voice chat mixing with it. If voice chat is important, the DSS won't do. AX720 and Mixamp... and to power the K702 ss Rage and Nerd normally suggest, look into the Bravo V2 amps on Ebay. They are powerful and very cheap (usually from $30-80) depending on auction. I'd buy one if I wasn't already waiting on the Fiio E9.

Rage: I do think my tastes have changed quite a bit over the past year (seriously, it's been almost a year since I bought my AD700s, O_O). I think I'd have a heart attack if all the sudden I had to go back to the XB700 and DT770 Pro-type sound. I know I'd still enjoy those two headphones, but they honestly can't compare to the AKG and Premium Beyers. Funny though, I still enjoyed the AD700 the last time I heard it. I can definitely hear it's flaws, but something about that overwhelming brightness and soundstage that still grips me to this day. I wasn't lying when I said that if the AD700 had a normal headband variant, I wouldn't have looked elsewhere for competitive gaming... but it's pointless now that I have the K701. =/





Truer words were never spoken.

Voice chat is important, looking at the k702 for cans but I am not really sure what I need/proper for an amp. Do I need two piece of hardware to complete the setup? Would an Astro amp work? Would the Fiio work for just a solo piece or do I need some else also?

Thanks, real nooby here.

If you dive right into the K702, you'll definitely need to add an extra amp and a way to add a microphone (if you don't have one yet).

If you get the Mixamp, and an amp to power the K702, it'd be like this....

360 Console ---> Optical digital cable ---> Mixamp ---> audio cable ---> amp for K702 ---> K702.

To get voice chat, you'd connect a talkback cable (comes with the Mixamp) from the Mixamp's controller input to the 360 controller's headset jack.

The reason why you will need an amp to power the hard to drive K702, is because you want to add voice chat. Adding voice chat to the mixamp severely underpowers the K702.

If you wait a few weeks, the E9 is due out soon, and I'm betting some good money that it will work very well with the K701/K702.

So my setup is gonna be:

360 --- Mixamp --- E9 ---K701

You wouldn't need an extra amp for headphones like the AD700, AD900, Senn 555, Senn 595. The K702 is just a notorious bastard at being power hungry. So yeah, you get a quality headphone, but you need a few more pieces in the audio chain to bring out more of their potential.

We really need to put on the front page that if you arent looking for audiophile quality and just want surround sound gaming with voice chat.. then its best to start with the AX720. Atleast until a better entry solution comes along.

Its the recommenation most of us agree with and it save alot of time & effort on everyones part. Seems like the same advice gets given out weekly. I know I wouldnt want to read all 350 pages in this thread to find that out.

About the DDS.. Will I need to purchase a mini to standard USB cable for ps3 use?

Ok those tritton's also have a newer set with more control 720 or Pro? The AX Pro? You guys like the Tritton product better than the astro a40 mixamp?

I tried to read a lot of the stuff in this thread but it spans 4+ years of tech, made my head spin a bit as everyone has different tastes.

From this post (PJ_Rage):
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post19328409

Yeah Daekwan, agreed. It's safe to say, if you found this thread because you are looking for good gaming headphones, and you are not an audiophile, you should buy the Tritton AX720. If you get them, and think they suck for some reason (unlikely), return back here and tell us your findings and we'll tell you what your next steps/options are. 99.9% of people would not be returning back. All of us headphone nuts keep exploring every last option to eek out every last ounce of performance, which gets the price to benefit ratio way out of whack. Worth it to us, wouldn't be worth it to most people. It gets everyone confused.

I don't know of a way to avoid this though, because people naturally will be looking at the most recent threads instead of something dated a few weeks/months/years back. I guess we would have to just make a last post here that essentially says "buy the ax720 if you have $130 and want the best value, buy the A40 system if you have $250 and want a marginally better system", and have the thread stickied and closed. Then, start a new "advanced headphone gaming solutions" thread or something. I can't think of any other way that we can avoid having new people come in every week/month and having to tell them the same thing over and over. I personally don't mind people asking and us giving answers though. When they decide to get XXX setup, whatever it is, their feedback generally contributes to this thread and moves it on. And as we all evolve and try new things, our answers (for more in depth solutions) vary a little bit too, so it's always kind of fresh info. But yeah, the basic "get the ax720" answer isn't going to change until there is a comparable system at a comparable price.

Yeah...

I started with HPX, then moved on, and moved on, and moved on...

Now I got AKG K702+MixAmp+E7+E9 (soon)

and crazy ppl here keep talking about CALs, 990s, F1s, etc, etc.

buy AX 720 and ban yourself from this site! heheh :P j/k

I love my new gear btw, but still need more time to test them properly

GUYS!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1285726

I have spent god knows how long making that thread, and I hope you guys can support me in making it!

I'm hoping we can all migrate from this thread to that one, that way people will start looking into something a little more updated....

Maybe you should reserve on that thread some posts for updates (kind of posts with reserved space only text)

I was bored today and went a bought a 31 band equalizer. My wallet tends to suffer when I am bored. The 15 band worked great but I found that most of the important information is all within a small portion of the spectrum. Also in that spectrum is gun , chopper, and harrier noise that I would like to tone down. I figure the 31 band eq would get double the adjustable frequencies that would further allow me to isolate the footsteps,silence weapons, and other cues away from the other annoying noise in the game. I will start testing tonight.

I been running some of the sounds through a spectrum analyzer to try to maximize my eq settings. I am testing some of those settings now. I will post some of my findings later.

IMO, the DT48 is easily the best Beyer headphone I heard..(One member feels his DT48A betters the HD800 minus the SS.) At least compared to the DT880/DT990/DT770..250 ohm) The DT880 sound veiled in comparison, but pretty bad for gaming in terms of scope of the virtual land scape.. & many would hate the fact that they sound like a headphone.. No out of head experience for the most part..minus a few surprises in movies. & no emphasis in bass, so many here would consider them bass anemic.. But they were made for recording voices & lab tests, monitoring music & voices, where ample bass is a distance priority.. They sound like music with the EQ turned off.. They are a aquired taste, like eating e cargo. I would never recommend then for a cold purchase for anyone in this thread. They sound too different. They don't sound like a typical dynamic headphone/Ortho/Stat. They truly have their own brand of sound. They are the most technically sound Beyer headphone ever created IMO..

Can you just buy DT48s somewhere, or do you have to scour the classifieds/ebay? I've been a little intrigued by them, in large part because of you mentioning them in nearly every thread I see you post But it's annoying trying to find older headphones and being sure they are the right ones (aren't there like several models of them that you own?). Ie, you can't just impulse buy them. Unless I'm mistaken.

The DT48 sounds pretty damn good on paper, but I'm not so sure I'd be into a dead flat curve like that. That and I think you mentioned them being not the most comfortable phones out there. Comfort is actually top priority for me. If a headphone doesn't meet my expectations of comfort, I wouldn't give it a second glance even if it was the greatest headphone of all time.

The ES7 is the very last headphone I will ever buy where I sacrificed comfort for sound.

Couple of questions here on my first post, can anyone help?

1) Been looking at the Sennheiser PC360 and was wondering could I link them up to my Xbox? Would I need something like the Steelseries Audio Mixer?
2) I dont think I need a closed speaker as I only play in my house when nobody is in, would the PC360 give me some deep bass and a wide soundstage for music/films etc aswell as games?
3) Would these work with the Turtle Force DSS or similar unit and give decent surround?
4) Another set I was looking at was the Sony DR-GA500 but cant find any reviews, has anyone got any of these? Anyone tried them out? Would they work with my Xbox?

Cheers

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